‘Pain Is Temporary’
Monmouth College student group mentors area youth
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Pictured after the Pain Is Temporary leaders spoke to Central Intermediate School students are, from left, Monmouth College seniors Raquel Emeterio of Chicago, Jon Calhoun of Tinley Park, Ill., and LaShawn Cargo of Aurora, Ill., junior TaShea’ Tinglin of Calumet City, Ill., and freshman Larry Haynes of Chicago.
For the last year, a group of Monmouth College students have made a difference in the lives of area youth by serving as their mentors.
On Wednesday morning, the leaders of the group passed the torch to the next set of set of Monmouth students.
Seniors LaShawn Cargo of Aurora, Ill., and Jon Calhoun of Tinley Park, Ill., co-founded Pain Is Temporary (PIT) to mentor students at Monmouth’s Central Intermediate School and Harding Elementary School.
“We all have struggles, and that unites us,” said Cargo in explaining the purpose of PIT.
Cargo and Calhoun introduced Central’s students to next year’s president and vice president of PIT – TaShea’ Tinglin ’17 of Calumet City, Ill., and Larry Haynes ’19 of Chicago.
“We all go through something,” Haynes told the students, who were assembled in Central’s gymnasium. “We all need someone to have our back. Stay with us – we’re going to stay with you.”
Cargo said that he and Calhoun created PIT to help teach students “leadership skills, how to cope with stress and how to help a peer.”
“Bullying is a major topic around schools and in the area,” Cargo said. “We try to help students deal with a tough situation like that and help them understand what bullying can lead to.”
Three times a week, the College’s PIT students spend an hour with the Central and Harding students. PIT provides the youth an extra layer of mentoring support by leading classroom discussions, conducting activities and organizing small group discussions. Cargo said those activities’ goals were to teach students “how we can help somebody else, and help them prepare to be better each and every day.”
Calhoun, who came up with the idea for PIT two years ago, said that even though he will graduate soon, “We’ll always be affiliated with PIT. It will stick with us forever.”
Calhoun has a final project to complete. PIT is planning a “Monmouth Unites” event, which he said will “bring the community together to support the kids.”
On Wednesday morning, the leaders of the group passed the torch to the next set of set of Monmouth students.
Seniors LaShawn Cargo of Aurora, Ill., and Jon Calhoun of Tinley Park, Ill., co-founded Pain Is Temporary (PIT) to mentor students at Monmouth’s Central Intermediate School and Harding Elementary School.
“We all have struggles, and that unites us,” said Cargo in explaining the purpose of PIT.
Cargo and Calhoun introduced Central’s students to next year’s president and vice president of PIT – TaShea’ Tinglin ’17 of Calumet City, Ill., and Larry Haynes ’19 of Chicago.
“We all go through something,” Haynes told the students, who were assembled in Central’s gymnasium. “We all need someone to have our back. Stay with us – we’re going to stay with you.”
Cargo said that he and Calhoun created PIT to help teach students “leadership skills, how to cope with stress and how to help a peer.”
“Bullying is a major topic around schools and in the area,” Cargo said. “We try to help students deal with a tough situation like that and help them understand what bullying can lead to.”
Three times a week, the College’s PIT students spend an hour with the Central and Harding students. PIT provides the youth an extra layer of mentoring support by leading classroom discussions, conducting activities and organizing small group discussions. Cargo said those activities’ goals were to teach students “how we can help somebody else, and help them prepare to be better each and every day.”
Calhoun, who came up with the idea for PIT two years ago, said that even though he will graduate soon, “We’ll always be affiliated with PIT. It will stick with us forever.”
Calhoun has a final project to complete. PIT is planning a “Monmouth Unites” event, which he said will “bring the community together to support the kids.”
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